Apparatus for handling cigars



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Oct. 12, 1943. a. H. REDFORD Erm.

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING CIGARS 6 'Sheets-Sheet l Filed April 1B, 1941 gl. A

ATTORNEYS Oct. l2, 1943. B. H; REDFORD x-:T AL

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING' CIGARS 6 Sheets-Shevet 2 Filed April 18. 1941 Su/anfawz OUMWQ). ATTORNEYS Belg] EML/ 5w,

Oct. l2, 1943. a. H. REDFORD ET AL. 2,331,505

APPARATUS FOR-HANDLING CIGARS Filed April 18, 1941 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Ocf- 12, 1943. B; H. REDFORD ET Al. 2,331,505

APPIARATUS FOR HANDLING CIGARS Filed April '18,l 1941 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 ct. 12, 1943. B H, REDFORD vr;'r AL. 2,331,505

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING CICARS Filed Aprilv 18, 1941 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTORN EY5 Oct. l2, 1943. B. H. REDFORD ETAL APPARATUS FOR HANDLING CIGARS Filed April 18, 1941 6 Sheets-Sheet .6

Patented Oct. 12, 1943 APPARATUS FOR HANDLING CIGARS Benjamin'H. Redford and Charles R. Swanson, Charleston, S. C., assignors to The American Tobacco Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application April 18, 1941, Serial No. 389,186

(Cl. JSS- 210) 5 Claims.

'I'his invention relates to apparatus for punching the ends of cigars and more particularly to apparatus wherein the end of a cigar is pierced by a heated needle to form a permanent opening therein.

As cigars are made it is vnecessary to remove a portion of the end of the cigar which the smoker places in his mouth to break the wrapper and permit the smoke and gases to pass through the cigar from the lighted end when the smoker puffs it. While the end of the cigar may beremoved by a cutting or clipping operation, the majority of smokers bite 01T the butt end ofthe cigar. This practice is not entirely satisfactory because it frequently loosens the adjacent portion of the Wrapper and the wrapper then continues to unravel during smoking.

It has been proposed to punch the butt end of a cigar, thus piercing the wrapper and eliminating the necessity of removing the tip prior to smoking. 'Prior attempts to punch an opening into the end of a cigar during the manufacturing operation have not been satisfactory. With the amount of moisture contained by tobacco in the form of a cigar an opening so punched is generally not permanent and the tobaco again lls the opening before the cigar is used.

In the present invention we provide apparatus for punching an opening in the butt end of a cigar Which will be permanent, that is, the portionof the cigar surrounding the opening will retain its shape. To obtain this result We employ a heated needle which evaporates the moisture in the tobacco around the opening and makes the opening permanent. pose wel provide a head or carrier having a step by step motion with a plurality of cigar receiving sections. At one position of the carrier, cigars are automatically fed'into a plurality of pockets of asection of the carrier and the section then moves to a second position. At the second position are pierced by a series of heated needles which form the holes in the ends of the cigars and push the Wrappers into the holes forming clean edges. The heat of the needle alsol evaporates the moisture in the tobacco. At the fourth step the punched cigars are delivered to a suitable conveyor and discharged from the mal chine.

For this pur- In the accompanying' drawings we have shown one form of machine forming'a part of the invetion. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation;

Fig. 2 is a substantially central vertical, longitudinal sectional View;

Fig. 3 is a plan View;

Fig. l is a transverse, vertical, sectional view online 4 4 of Fig. 2; y

Fig. 5 isa similar view on line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a similar view on line 6 6 of Fig. 2;y

Fig. '7 is a detailed, horizontal, sectional view substantially on line '1 1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a vertical, sectional view on line 8-8 of Fig. 4;'

Fig. 9 is a detailed, sectional view of one section of the carrier showing the position of the denting punch Whenin operative position;

Fig. 10 is adetailed, vertical, sectional View of one of the piercing punches; v Fig.y ll'is a vertical, sectional view on line H--H of Fig. 10; l

Fig. l2 is a detailed, sectional view of one of thejsections of the head or carrier atv the time the cigars are released; and

lFig. 13 is a plan view of one of the sections of the hea-dor carrier.

choral description of machine n of the machine by an operator working in front of atable l2r and are delivered from the hopper to oneof the sections of the head I4. `Each ofA these sections isprovided with a plurality of pockets for reception of the cigars and thecigars are fedY into these pockets when the section of the head is in the position A of Fig. 2. At the second position B of the head, the ends `of the cigars are slightly dented Without perforating the wrapper by means of denting punches carried by a frame i6 (see Figs. 2 and 4). The head then moves to the third position C (Fig. 2) and the ends of the cigars are pierced or punched by punches mounted on a carriage i8. Upon movement of the section to the fourth position D and opening of the section, the punched cigars are The head or carrier'is mounted on a sleeve 24 Fig. 13)

f which is in turn supported by a shaft 26 mounted in suitable bearings in the side walls 6 and 8 of the machine r(see Fig. 4). Sleeve 24 is driven with a step by step movement and brings each of the four sections of the head to the positions A, B, YC and D during each revolution. Each section of the head comprises a relatively -sta,

tionary member'28y andi: a relatively movable member 30 (see Figs.Y 12 and 13).` These two tively stationary member 2810i the head is provided vvith arms 38 having openings lforl the reception of the rod 32 and the relatively stationary member is secured against"l relative move- `ment by pins 40 which pass through these arms and through the rod 32. e

The relativelymovable member 30 is pivotally supported on the rod 32 to permitopening and closing of the section forA the insertion and removal of cigars. As shown', the relatively movable memberis providedwith arms5`42 having openings for the reception of the rod 32 to pivotally support the movable memberk o n this rod.

- Member28 is provided with an inner facehaving -a plurality of substantiallyv semi-circular pockets 44 for the reception of the cigars (see The othermember 30 carries a pluor bracket 94 and is arranged substantially opposite to the shaft 'I6 (see Fig. 4). On the inner side of the yside plate 8 this shaft carries a disc 96 forming one element of a Geneva movement. This disc has a pin 98 through Which it drives the other element of the Geneva drive (see Fig. 2). A star wheel |00 is mounted upon the sleeve 24 and is provided with four slots |02. Revolution of the shaft 92 thus imparts a stepby step movement to the sleeve 24, through the Geneva movement and each section of the head is in turn moved vto each of the four p-ositions and remains in that position a sufficient length of time to permit thek operation which is performed at that station.

Cigar feed As stated, the cigars are manually placed in the hopper I0 by an operator, the cigars being so placed that the ends |04 which are to be pierced are toward the front of the hopper so that they will be deliveredltdthe carrier with these ends projecting from the cigar holders. Thevend walls of the hopper areinclined as at |06 (see Fig. 5) to facilitate feeding'the cigars into pockets in the bottom of the hopper. These pockets vare aligned `with the pockets formed by the recesses 44 and 48'in the sections of the head rality of cigar engaging plates 46which are likewise provided with substantially semi-circular recesses 48 forthe reception of the cigars. 4Each of the plates 46is provided with a pair of pins 4 9 r(see Fig. l2)4 andthese pins are surrounded bysprings'50.. Thessprings are'received in and engagethe bottom-of cups or receptacles 5%2 carl ried by vthe :movable member 30. The cigar engaging plates 46 are thus yieldingly forced against the cigars vto prevent damage tc them. `Inward, movement of the cigar engaging `plates 46 is limited by pinslwhich pass through the portions ofthe pin/s 49',which' project from the receptacles 52. 'A wire member 56, is secured to the ends of each of the membersl'ZB and 30 and extends transverselyof `the oppositemember 28 or 30 as indicated at 58, then alongth'eentire length of the section'as indicated-atl 60. .Each of ythese Wire members may be provided with a substantially central transverse member 62.

"The head orcarrier I4 is driven 'with :a step by step movement from a shaft 64 which is supy ported in `*bea-ringsv carried by the side frame f member 6 and an auxiliary vframe member or bracket 66- (see Fig.' A'4)'. This shaft is provided withmapulleyzby 'means of which the shaft may be driven, or it may be'directly connected to'a motorAv or other source of power. It is also "providedwith ahand'wheel '|0"on its outer' end to permit'manual operation. Shaft 64 is provided with apinion 'l2 which drives a gear '|4 mounted on a shaft V'Itto'rotate therewith. The shaft y'l'b isalsomounted in suitable bearings in the side plate G'andthe auxiliary side'plate 66 (see Fig. 4). A'sprocket 18 is mounted on the shaft 16 anda chain 80 passes overthis sprocket and overfasprocliet 82 mounted on a 'shaft 84 (see Fig.` 1).' T-he shaft 84,7Which` is thus con- 1 stantly driven, extends across the machine and is provided with a sprocket 86 on its other end ('see'Fig; 3). A'chain 88 passe'sover this sprocket and over a sprocket 90 on a shaft 92. The shaft 92 is mounted in suitable bearings carried by the side plate 8 and by van auxiliary side plate when-the section is in position Aand insure proper delivery of a cigar into eachl section of the head. The bottom of the hopper is provided with a plate |08 having substantially semicircular recesses ||0 for .the reception of'individual cigars. Above eachof these'recesses vthere isiprovided a verticalY channel |.|2, the channels being yseparated vfrom each other by members H4. The. members |4 are vertically oscillated tc agitate the cigars in the bottom of. the body portion of-the hopper and feed them into the channels ||2. vPlates H6 (see Fig; 2) are secured to the frontand rear Walls of the hopper and these plates and the YwallsofV the Vhopper are provided with vertical slots ||8 (see Fig. 5). An oscillating ,plate |20 isvarranged-on the outside of eachof 'the plates ||6vand these oscillating plates are providedwithinclined slots |22'. Pins |24,l passthrough the slotsl I3v and |22' and are connected to the membersl H4. The upper ends of the members |'I4 are rounded as shown to facilitate delivery cf the cigars into the guide- Ways ||2 when the members I I4v are agitated.

To oscillate the platesr |20 we provide a cam |22 'mounted` on a shaft |24-(see Figsy and 6).. Shaft v|24 is mounted in bearings carried by the side plate E and the auxiliary side plate 66. The ends of the plates |20 are connectedv to a transverse member |26 which is in vturn provided with an armY |28 having a pin orvroller |30 adapted to be received linthe groove ,of thecam |22. Shaft |24'is driven from shaft 16. A sleeve |32 is loosely mounted on .the shaft 2E betweena pair of collars |34 (see Fig. 4).' This sleeve carries a gear |36 meshing with gear 14 and also rcarries a sprocket |38, Y .The sprocket |38 receives a chain |40 (see Fig. 3) which also passes over a sprocket |42 mounted on the shaft |24.

I With a cigar mounted in each of the pockets H0 ofthe bottom plate |08 of the hopper and with a section of thehead in the position A (see Fig. 2) yof the drawings, a cigar is fed rto each o f the pockets of the section. A reciprocating plate |60 is mounted beneath the table l2 and this plate carries pushing'members |62 on its inner end. One pushing memberIEZ is provided for each of the pockets I0. The pushingdevice is actuated from shaft 92 (see Fig. 4). A cam |64 is mounted on this shaft and this cam is provided with a cam groove to receive a pin |66 carried by an arm |68 (see Fig. 3). The upper end of the arm |68 is provided with a sleeve whi'h receives the shaft 26 to form a pivot for this arm, The lower end of the arm |58 is connected to a link |12 and the opposite end of this link is connected to an arm |14. Arm |14 is mounted on a transverse shaft |16 (see Fig. 5) to thus oscillate the shaft |16. Adjacent each end the shaft |16 is provided with an arm or crank |18 (see Fig. 2). These arms are connected to arms |80 by links |82. The arms |80 are pivoted on the side walls of the machine as at |84. Arms |80 are connected to arms |86 which are secured to the plate |60 by means oi' linksv |83- y Cigar dentz'ng punches At the position B, Fig. 2, each ofthe cigars in the pockets of a section isv engaged by denting punches. These punchesare provided with blunt ends and merely dent the end of the cigar without piercing the wrapper to properly center the later punching operation by the piercing punches. The side 'walls of the machine are provided with slots |99 to form guides for carriers or cross-heads |92 (see Fig. 4). A rod |94 extends upwardly from each ofthese carriers or cross-heads. 'I'he upper ends of these rods are connected by a cross-member |96 carrying a plurality of punches |96. Beneathk the cross-member |96, a second cross-member 200 is slidably mounted on the rods |94. The cross-member 200 is provided with openings for the reception ofthe rods |94 and its downward movement is limited by collars 262 fixed to rods |94, Its upward movement toward the upper cross-member |96 is limited by springs 204, which surround the rods |94 between the cross-members |96 and 200. As shown in Fig. 9 the cross-member 200 carries a plurality of guide blocks 205 having openings 266 for the passage of the punches |98 and having recesses 2,68 on their lower sides shaped to receive the ends of the cigars. The punches |98 and the guide-blocks 265 are removably mounted so that they can be replaced by similar members when different types or shapes of cigars are being handled.

The entire punching assembly is caused to reciprocate downwardly when a section of the head has reached the position B and come to rest. It is driven from the shaft 16 by means of cam 2|6. This cam is provided with a groove 2|2 (see Fig. 1) which receives a roller 2|4 car ried by an arm 2|6. The arm 2|6 is pivoted to the side wall of the machine at 2|8. The lower end of this arm is connected to a link 220. The opposite end of the link is connected to an arm or crank 222 carried by a sleeve 224 mounted on a ,shaft 226. The shaft 226 is thus oscillated. Shaft 226 extends across the machine and is provided with cranks or arms 226 at each end (see Fig. 3). These arms are connected to links 230 extending longitudinally of the machine. The other ends of these links are connected to the ends of bell crank levers 232 (see Fig. 1). The bell crank levers are pivoted in the side walls of the machine at 234` The other arms 236 of the bell crank levers are connected to the guides or cross-heads |92.

Cigar piercing mechanism At the next station C, the piercing punches engage the en ds of the cigars to form the opening inthevends of them. Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 3

and 10 of the drawings, a plurality of piercing punches 250 are carried by the carriage |8 which oscillates on the bed or table of the machine, toward and away from the section of the head in the position C. Each of the punches is mounted on a shaft 254. Shafts 254 are mounted in suitable bearings carried by transverse members 256 and 258 of the carriage. 'Ihe outer ends of the shafts are provided with sprockets 260 and the punches are continuously rotated when the Inachine is in operation. In front of the transverse member 256 a heating coil 262 is mounted in a suitable casing 264 and the punch or needle 250 extends through this heating coil and projects therefrom. Casing 264 is connected to the shaft 254 by an insulated joint shown in Fig. 11. As shown a substantially oval shaped plate 265 is mounted on the inner end of the casing, and a similarly shaped plate 266 is mounted on the end of the shaft, and has its major axis at right angles to that of the plate 265. Plates 265 and 266 are each connected to a ring 261 of suitable fibrous heat insulating material, This arrangement not only insulates the shaft from the heating coil but also provides a flexible mounting for the needle. The punch or needle, as shown, is provided with a relatively sharp point 268. A pair of arms 210 (see Fig. 3) which extend longitudinally, support a transverse member 212 carrying guide-blocks 214 similar to the guide-blocks 205 heretofore described. These guide-blocks are provided with openings 216 for the punches and their faces are provided with recesses 218 shaped to receive the end of a cigar (see Fig. 10).

Arms 210 are slidably mounted in the carriage or frame |8 to permit the guide-blocks to yield when they engage the ends of cigars and prevent breakage. As shown collars 280 are fixedly mounted on the rods 210 and coil springs 282 are arranged between these collars and the transverse members.

The coils 262 are heated when the machine is in operation by means of a bus bar 284 which extends across the carriage and is provided with a pair of conductors 286 connected to suitable leads 288 (see Figs. 3 and 10). Above each of the shafts 254 a pair of connectors 26! extend from the `conductors 286 and engage rings 292 carried by the shafts. Lead wires 294 connect these rings to the opposite ends of the coil 262.

The carriage |8 is oscillated from the oscillating shaft 226 (see Fig. 7). A pair of cranks 300 are secured to this shaft and connected to links 302; links 302 being in turn connected to the carriage as at 304.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 7 of the drawings we provide means for cleaning each of the punches 250 after each cigar piercing operation. The shaft 84 carries a cam 306. An arm or lever 308 which is pivoted to the carriage at 310 is engaged by this cam. A frame 3|2 is pivoted to the carriage at 3|4 and this frame carries a plurality of cleaning devices 3|6 at its outer end. The cleaning devices are adapted to receive steel Wool or the like and when the cam 366 raises the lever 308, the lever in turn raises the frame 3|2 to bring one of the cleaning devices into contact with each of the needles. The needle being in a state of revolution is cleaned by the contact with the steel wool.

Sprockets 260 on the shafts of the piercing needles are driven by a chain 320 which passes over all of the sprockets. The end shaft 254 is provided with a pulley 322 (see Fig. 3). A belt or cable 323 passes over the pulley 322 and over member. Movement of the belt causes the cigar to travel along the belt and at the beginning of this movement, the cigars are properly guided by the plates 350.

We claim:

l. Apparatus of the character described comprising a head, the head comprising a central member and a plurality of sections extending radially from the central member;v each section comprising a relatively stationary member and a relatively movable member, each of said sections being provided with a, plurality of substantially semi-circular recesses cooperating with the corresponding recesses of the other member to form pockets for the reception of cigars, means vfor imparting a rotary step bystep movement to the head, a grooved cam movably mounted on the central member, an arm carried by each of the movable members and received in the groove of the cam to open and close each section during each revolution of the head, and means for delivering a cigar to each pocket of a section when the section is in one position.

2. Apparatus of the character described comprising a head, the head comprising a central member and a plurality of sections extending radially from the central member, each section comprising a relatively stationary member and a relatively movable member, each of said sections being provided with a plurality of substantially semi-circular recesses cooperating with the corresponding recesses of the other member to form pockets for the reception of cigars, means for imparting a rotary step by step movement to the head, a grooved cam movably mounted on the central member, an arm carried by each of the movable members and vreceived in the groove of the cam, and means for oscillating the cam to open and close the sections.

3. Apparatus of the character described comprising a stationary shaft, a sleeve mounted on the shaft, a plurality of radially extending sections carried by the sleeve, each section comprising a relatively stationary member and a relatively movable member, each of said members being provided with a plurality of semicircular recesses cooperating with the corresponding recesses of the other member to form pockets for the reception of cigars, a grooved cam mounted on the sleeve, arms carried by the movable members and received in the groove of the cam, and means for oscillating the cam to open and close the sections.

4. Apparatus of the character described comprising a stationary shaft, a sleeve mounted on the shaft, a plurality of radially extending sections carried by the sleeve, each section comprising a relatively stationary member and a relatively movable member, each of said members being provided with a plurality of semi-circular recesses cooperating with the corresponding recesses of the other member to form pockets for the reception of cigars, a cam movably mounted on the sleeve, the cam being provided with a groove having a concentric portion, and an eccentric portion, arms carried by the movable member and received in the groove of the cam, and means for oscillating the cam to open and close the sections.

5. Apparatus of the character described comprising a head, the head comprising a central member and a plurality of sections extending radially from the central member, each section comprising a relatively stationary member and a relatively movable member, one of said members being provided With a plurality of spaced semicircular recesses, plates yieldingly mounted in the other of said members, said plates having semicircular recesses cooperating with the recesses of the other member to form pockets for the reception of cigars, means for imparting a rotary step by step movement to the head, means for moving the relatively movable member of each section when the section is in one position to open the pockets and lmeans for closing said member.

BENJAMIN H. REDFORD. CHARLES R. SWANSON. 

